Why Organic Tea

Why we buy only Organic Tea

The Short of it

Non-organic tea is some nasty stuff. Buy organic. It only costs $.02 to $.04 more per cup. We think that's worth it--there are other tea purveyors who would disagree, and there's no shame in exploring their offerings if it suits your fancy.

The Long of it

Your tea isn't washed before it goes in your cup. Tea is plucked then processed and dried. This means that whatever is sprayed on tea plants in the field is going to end up in your cup when you steep it. Do some searching: non-organic tea has a terrible track record of being loaded with chemicals that are outright banned in many countries. The best way to guarantee that you are getting tea--and only tea--in your cup is by buying certified organic teas.

"Organic" is a highly regulated certification stipulating that your tea is grown without synthetic pesticides, sewage sludge, or GMOs. It is the most-thorough, most-trusted agricultural certification in the United States for these things. Certification is difficult to achieve and involves on-site inspections and testing, along with back-breaking penalties for infractions, and strict record-keeping requirements.

Indeed it is a shame. We (humans) have been drinking tea for 3,000 years. For reference, that is some 2,500 years longer than we've been drinking coffee. For 99% of that time, tea was grown organically. We'll side with history on this one.

So here's our promise: all of the tea leaves that you get from Hugo Tea Company are certified organic. That isn't some fanciful marketing technique--it makes a very real difference in the quality of your tea, the working conditions for our farmer friends, and the environment where your tea is grown.